Technology

In the age of green energy we are seeing interesting new developments that marry building materials with the capacity to harness renewable power sources. Building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) or concentrating PV technologies aren't new, but the ability to concentrate and maximize the capture of energy by tracking sunlight from dawn to dusk is. The Center for Architectural Science and Ecology CASE has unveiled a new Integrated Concentrating (IC) Dynamic Solar Facade which does just that - and it looks great! Read More

Go ahead, stare. It’s OK, they want you to. Delta 7 Bikes currently manufactures two of the most unusual-looking bicycles on the market, the Arantix hardtail mountain bike and the Ascend road bike. Their open-lattice spider-web tubes incorporate patented IsoTruss geometric design, wherein carbon fiber and Kevlar are woven into a network of isosceles triangles. The triangles join together to form pyramid-shaped trusses, which provide incredible structural support while using a minimum of material. If you’re a bicycle-maker looking for something with a great strength-to-weight ratio, it’s hard to beat. Read More

Touchscreens found in most mobile devices today use capacitance or resistance technology - fine for detecting input from a finger, but not so great when it comes to detecting how much pressure that finger is applying. However, this limitation could be about to change with news that Japanese touch screen manufacturer, Nissha, has licensed new technology that allows a touchscreen to detect pressure, even from a finger. This adds a third dimension to touchscreen interaction and opens up a raft of potential applications. Read More

In a world that largely relies on elevators to ferry people from one floor of a building to the next, it is remarkable how inefficient current systems are in terms of favoring passenger convenience over the increasingly important aspect of reducing energy consumption. Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric looks set to buck the trend with the announcement of its development of multi–elevator smart control technology that can not only reduce energy use by up to ten percent, but do so while adding a mere few seconds to passenger waiting times. Read More

If you’re like most people, you probably think that 200 megabits per second for wireless data transfer is just too darn slow! What are we, cavemen? Not anymore, apparently, as electronic engineering company Siemens just broke their own record by achieving 500 Mbps using white LED light. Read More

It’s a big world out there and for many different people in society that means a big risk of getting lost. Following the release of its nu.m8 GPS location device for children, Lok8u has announced its adult counterpart, the multi.m8. The device, worn as a wristwatch, aims to make a range of people from lone workers to the elderly easily locatable through the combined use of GPS and cellular identification technology. Read More

The highly innovative TTXGP organization, which has already created several national and international electric motorcycle racing series, continues to show the way forward for the future of motorsport management. In yet another groundbreaking move, TTXGP has acknowledged the limitations of committee-based systems for framing rules, and created a wiki that allows global input to be filtered through technical expertise to frame a better set of rules for everyone. “Rules are core to keeping a championship alive with innovation and competition,” said TTXGP’s Azhar Hussain on the TTXGP web site. “It's crucial that for TTXGP to thrive, we have a rules framework that is inclusive and sensitive to the needs of all the stakeholders.”
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After five years of development, Cannondale has unveiled a new proof-of-concept prototype that could revolutionize bicycle suspension. Called Simon, it’s the newest member of their offbeat Lefty line of one-legged shock forks. According to Cannondale, Simon’s onboard microprocessor will allow users to customize their ride like never before. If that isn’t enough, it can also send the fork from being fully-open to fully-closed in just six milliseconds. Read More

Casting one’s eye into a crystal ball is a risky undertaking that can leave the forecaster as visionary or fool – particularly if they are short term predictions that can easily be checked. But that hasn’t deterred the soothsayers at IBM coming up with their fourth annual “Next 5 in 5” list of innovations that will impact our lives in the next five years. Based on market and societal trends as well as emerging technologies, the latest list focuses on innovations that have the potential to change how people live, work and play in our burgeoning cities. Read More